Fight and Flight
by Shikon Entity Shinobu
Summary: Alex usually found that relying on her base instincts got her through most things in life until her mother's boyfriend decided to make killing her his pastime. Life does goes on, even when you can't stay dead
1. Chapter 1

_Her entire body hurt, except this time when she fell down there was no wolf lapping at the wound, no father to pick her up and patch whatever had gone wrong, just pain beyond belief. She couldn't imagine a part of her that wasn't covered in bruises._

 _"Oh come on Lycissa, that's no fun." She managed to open her eyes, looking up at her mother's boyfriend. Asshole. That wasn't even her name, it was Alexander. If she had the energy she'd have glared. She must have because he kicked her onto her back, pressing his foot down on her ribs. "I'm not sure I enjoy that look on you. Grey eyes look better when they're sleepy." She gasped for breath as her lungs struggled to find somewhere to expand._

 _"Keith, at this rate you'll kill her." Her head lolled towards her mother's voice, though the woman wasn't looking at her. Since when were her mother's eyes red? Now that she looked, Keith's eyes weren't violet anymore. They were red too._

 _This was one hell of a nightmare. It had to be._

 _"Why not? Nobody's gonna look for her and you sure as hell aren't gonna take her with us, are you?"_

 _"Of course not." Keith grinned. That was realistic. That stupid shit eating grin he gave her every time he walked into HER house. Like he owned the goddamn place and her along with it. Fuck him._

 _Maybe he'd heard her thoughts because he chose that exact moment to slam his foot down on her chest. She could feel several ribs break, embedding themselves into the soft tissue of her lungs. They would collapse after something like that. She'd seen it on some tv show._

 _She let out the involuntary cough, wheezing as her lungs filled with blood. Every breath brought up more air._

 _She needed to WAKE UP._

 _WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE-_

She wheezed, coughing as she curled up on the cold floor. It was daytime. Everything was a dream. the worst dream ever.

She winced at the sticky feeling on her mouth. She'd drooled. Her hand reached up to wipe her mouth, sore from sleeping on the floor all night. When she pulled it back it was covered in bright red. Like blood.

She looked down at her floor in horror, seeing the splotches of dried blood on her floor. What the hell was going on? Was she sick? Should she call 911? In the meantime she settled for scrambling away.

"I thought I heard something strange." She bit down a scream as she looked at Keith behind her. He had red eyes. He looked like a demon. Even worse, once he stepped into the sunny room she could see his skin shimmering like he'd rolled in glass. "Figures you'd be so disobedient you couldn't even stay dead Lycissa."

She shook her head. That was a dream. Dead people didn't just wake up.

"Though that is helpful. Now I have a nice little snack whenever I want." What the hell was he talking about. Nothing made sense. "I don't suppose you'll sit still for me, so I'm going to hold you down, okay?"

"G-get the fuck away!" She couldn't even scramble away when he pinned her down so fast her head smacked against the floor. "Get off me!"

"If you scream like that I'll rip your throat out." He was a fucking psycho! She struggled against him, panicking as she couldn't even manage to lift one of his fingers. Her feet kicked at him, and despite her being a star of the track team, her legs were useless. It was like kicking a statue. So, she settled for screaming.

Until she wasn't. She couldn't even breathe, the action causing a wet, gasping sound but she couldn't fee air pass her nose. And then the pain hit.

"I told you I'd rip your throat out." She was seeing double of Keith, but she could see blood smeared on his mouth and chin. Well at least she could still cry. The pain was excruciating. "Now that's an expression I like." He bowed his head, sucking at her bleeding neck like it was some kind of fruit.

She was going to die on this dumbass floor because her mother's psychopath boyfriend decided to make a fucking meal out of her. Either this was a very elaborate nightmare, and any moment she'd wake up to Anubis licking her face and her dad shouting he'd made breakfast, or she really couldn't die, in which case she was about to learn the true meaning of hell.

* * *

She'd lost count of how many times he'd fed on her, but it was enough for her to figure out she didn't die. It was also enough to figure out her nightmare was real. Somehow, vampires were real, and Keith and her mother were both vampires. What she did know was that Keith took some sick joy in killing her, and it was all she could do to piss him off enough to kill her more quickly. It wasn't like she could escape, and she was running out of things to remember to pass the time. If she imagined hard enough, she could feel her family, minus her mother of course, in the house with her. Even better she could remember the hikes the three of them went on, sometimes four if her grandfather was in town.

They'd go out of the city and upstate to where forests sprawled. At first all the animals around them had scared her, but she'd gotten used to the wolves her size that would lick her face affectionately and nuzzle her like a child. Anubis wasn't particularly pleased about other wolves around his mistress, but he listened when she told him not to bully them. Well he more or less listened. The larger the wolf got the more he realized he could bully her back. Her favorite part was always all the deer her father would draw towards them. Once he'd even let her ride one, though they went very slowly like the pony rides at the zoo. She used to wonder why animals didn't flock to Solomon like they did to the rest of them until they'd stayed until night. The hooting didn't stop until morning and she quickly learned what happened to the parts of animals an owl couldn't digest.

She could even remember her grandfather. Until she'd started drawing the wolves, she'd sided with her mother that he was a strange old man. He never cut his hair, instead wearing it loose around his shoulders. A wolf just as old and grey as he was was always at his side, the only one Anubis was never rude to. He always called her Little Dawn for some reason, despite Dawn only being her middle name. He was always nice to her though, and whenever she wanted a snack he would always have a bit of jerky that he made at home for her. After they started going on hikes with him, she didn't think he was so strange. She even stopped cutting her hair just like he did.

"What's got you smiling Lycissa?" And just like that, her small moment of happiness disappeared like smoke.

She didn't answer Keith. Whenever anything made her happy, he could somehow fuck it up for her. She wouldn't let him fuck this up.

"You were so excited for me you made yourself smile, huh?" Something was wrong, and when she finally looked up at him, she could see a large iron spike from their gate in his hands. It was nearly as tall as he was. "Well I hate to disappoint you, but your mother and I are going to be gone or a few days." She could survive on little food, hell, she was good at going a long period of time without food if she was well fed, but they barely fed her as was. Just enough to keep her from passing out because her body inevitably regenerated back to a healthy state if she died.

"What are you going to do?" Keith grinned.

"Dear, don't be too long or we'll miss the plane." She watched her mother loop her arms around her boyfriend's shoulders and kiss his cheek. She didn't even look at her. Alexander hated the fact that it still hurt, but she swallowed it.

"Don't worry, just making sure my little snack doesn't go anywhere." He kicked her over, and she suddenly realized what that stake was for.

She managed to get down to a grunt as he rammed the spike through her abdomen. She tried to kick back at him uselessly. Not because it didn't do anything, but because she couldn't move her legs. Either he was smarter than she thought or extremely lucky. Even if she was able to get off the spike on her own, not having legs made that utterly impossible.

"You should be fine until we get back. Now don't go throwing any wild parties, okay?" Keith laughed at his own joke. If she were in any less pain she'd have said something smart. By the time she'd adjusted to the pain, she could already tell she was alone in the house.

She stared up at the ceiling, trying to count down until she inevitably bled out. Instead, she found she'd black out for a bit, only to wake up god knew how much later to bleed out even more. Well shit. At least with the house empty she could make as much noise as she wanted. Compared to most of the other things Keith had done, this was towards the bottom of the list with regards to ranking on a pain scale. If she imagined hard enough, it wasn't too much more painful than getting a shot at the doctor. Singing usually got her through those.

She was pretty sure she was deliriously mixing up the words of Mary Had a Little Lamb with the melody of Old McDonald Had a Farm when she heard the banging. It wasn't normal knocking on the door, it was more like it was being bashed in by a robber. Judging by the streetlights filtering into her room, she'd say that it was late at night.

"Alex!" Solomon? She hadn't seen her brother in forever. She twitched her upper body, immediately causing her to cry out. Now it hurt less like a doctor's shot and more like being impaled should have. "Dad she's in here!" Her father was there too? She hadn't seen him since the last divorce hearing.

"Alexander!" All she could do was scream now. She heard footsteps running on the stairs.

"Dad! She's in here!" She watched Solomon run in, identifying him more by the blond mass of curls on his head than his face. "Oh my god!" He ran out the room and she could hear him retching.

"It smells like blood!" She saw her father and now she felt something wet on her face that wasn't blood for once. He looked exactly the same. Her mother had been aged by the stress of the divorce but her father didn't even have an extra smile line. "Oh my god. Alex- We'll fix this, okay?"

"Dad." He gripped the pole, yanking.

"Solomon help me!" Her father was one of the strongest people she knew. If he needed help. Her brother ran back into the room, gripping the pole and pulling. She couldn't even feel it move an inch.

"Dad, it's not gonna move." Her father wouldn't stop pulling. "Alex, we're gonna have to pull you off." She nodded.

"Don't worry. I'll just wake up later." Solomon nodded.

"You'll wake up later and we'll tell you everything." She closed her eyes, preparing for the pain as they lifted her up through several feet of rusted iron.

She was wrong, she didn't die immediately, instead she screamed even when they'd finally laid on the floor.

"I thought for sure it was going to kill her." At least they were making her comfortable.

"She'll die slowly at this point, and it severed her spine. It's better to let her die quickly. She may still be able to walk if the wound's open when she dies." Her father was oddly calm for somebody who found their child impaled to the floor. He sounded more like a doctor on one of those medical dramas. Alex took deep breaths, adjusting to the pain quickly.

"Do it." They looked down at her. "Dad, you know how to do it right? Just make it quick and painless." He knew how to hunt, meaning he knew how to take an animal out of their misery. She couldn't have been that different.

"Are you-"

"Dad if you don't I might just kill you myself." He tried to smile at her attempt at humor, instead only looking like he was wincing.

"I'm so sorry." He cradled her head, and she didn't even feel it as he snapped her neck.


	2. Chapter 2

_Harleys don't die, kiddo._

Something should have tipped her off earlier about her family being odd, aside from them allowing a child to have a wolf cub, and a grey wolf no less. Genetically speaking, everyone having the same exact eye color should have been impossible. With her mother's pale skin tone, they probably should have been a bit lighter, but all four of them were the same olive tone with near identical freckles across their noses and cheeks. She probably should have paid more attention to that unit in freshman biology. Then again, she was probably too busy taking advantage of her abnormal running speed. She didn't even want to try out for the track team until some guy she'd crushed on talked her into it. No matter what the distance, and even in cross country, she always outran every single one of her competitors by a carefully measured margin. Just enough to look normal. _Okay, maybe something did tip her off._

But the fact that they didn't die? That never crossed her mind. Her grandfather looked as old as anyone else. Her father looked reasonably young for his age, but he was healthier than most people. She'd never even seen him or her brother get injured before. Even when Solomon fell out of a tree, all he'd done was knock out a loose tooth. Why wouldn't her mother have known something like this? It was something you'd tell your spouse, right?

She mulled over the questions in the car ride. The backseat was barely large enough to accommodate Anubis's near monstrous size. He was longer than her now, almost seven feet, and she could tell he weighed more than her despite the amount of lean muscle she'd developed. Even so, she buried her fingers in his grey and blond fur, the softness comforting her as her as she rolled through her questions. She'd deduced that being around her had some kind of effect on his growth by now, seeing as wolves this large were long extinct. Anubis would always be reassuring to her though. Being around him felt like home. Almost in response, the wolf nudged at her hands to pet his head and she smiled, obliging him. He definitely wasn't a normal wolf.

"How you doing back there kiddo?" They'd been driving for a week now, with only a short stop at her grandfather's cabin and an outlet mall to get her some clothes along the way. Anubis had not been pleased about not being allowed inside the motel rooms, and she'd been forced to bribe him with meat snuck from her meals to agree.

"Okay." She wasn't lying. For the first time in weeks she felt okay. "What made you guys come find me?"

"Anubis was losing his freakin mind," Solomon answered. "Dad didn't know what to do so we came to get you."

"I should've checked on you sooner," her father muttered angrily.

"Mom wouldn't have let you in the house." She could see where they'd busted open the front door.

"But for her to bring somebody like that around you?!" She'd never heard her father yell, not even when her mother picked fights before the divorce. He raised his voice to be heard, but he never shouted at anyone. "I could deal with a vampire but not around somebody like us!" Anubis immediately flattened his ears against his skull and she wished she could do the same.

"Dad, do you need one of us to take the wheel?" Alex said quietly, trying to comfort Anubis by reaching deep into his fur and gently scratching the skin underneath. Her father took a deep breath.

"I'm fine. We'll feel better when we get home." That brought her to a new question, and it was a welcome change from her constantly questioning what was going on with her life. She really didn't want to turn into one of those overly superstitious people that believed everything supernatural was real.

"So where exactly is 'home'? We've been driving forever and I've never been west of Granddad's before."

"Dad bought a house on a reservation out in Forks, Washington. It's pretty close to my school too." Solomon grinned back at her. "So you can see me when you want too!" Not like she'd seen that much of him after he'd hit puberty. Mostly he just sat on the roof or hid out in his room, staying up until ungodly hours of the night.

"Forks...Washington? I've never even seen that place on a map." Then again, the only place in Washington she'd even bothered to look at on a map was Seattle, and that was just to see where her brother's school was.

"It's all the way in the Northeast tip, near the Canadian border." Meaning plenty of trees and a low population. It was perfect for hiking and the weather would be cool enough for Anubis. "Even better, vampires aren't allowed anywhere near the reservation."

That was the first time the entire trip her father had brought up vampires at all when he knew she was listening. The last time he even said the word had been to her grandfather while she was supposed to be asleep. Even then all she'd caught were upset whispers and her grandfather's low rumbling voice. Her father tiptoed around the topic whenever she was in the room, and she was pretty content to pretend it didn't happen. Well, pretend as well as she could.

"How's that possible?"

"They have an agreement with a family of them in the town. They don't come near the land and they don't bite humans," her father explained. "The school's a bit small, but there are enough kids there for you to be able to avoid them."

"So long as they're not repeats of him I think I'll be fine." Yellow eyes bored into her and she dared the wolf to give away her lie. He huffed, settling back down over her lap for another nap. "I feel like I'm in witness protection," she admitted. Sure she didn't have a lot of friends, but she had friends. She had her team. Judging by how far they were moving, she guessed that she wasn't going to keep running track.

"You'll feel much better once we get there. You always liked forests. There's a beach too." She could see her father's guilt in the mirror.

"And meat. There's plenty of meat." She'd been able to use running track and puberty as an excuse for her appetite, but her mother always controlled her portions.

"Yeah, all the meat you and Anubis want." She smiled, finally relaxing enough that she felt drowsy instead of black out tired. "He's turned into a very good hunter and tracker. You'll see when you take him out running with you. He's even faster than you." She adjusted to lie down with her head on Anubis's back.

"How do you know how fast I am?"

"I found videos of your track meets," Solomon offered. "He's seen every single one of them. Including that time you forgot to slow down in cross country." She yawned. She remembered that one. The entire team had to go through steroid tests for a month after that. One guy got caught, ironically not one of their star runners.

"It just felt so good to have grass and uneven ground."

"Well, there's plenty of that out here." She could already see the dark green blurring by as she snuggled down for a nap.

* * *

She woke up to the smell of rain and a patting motion on her head.

"C'mon sleepyhead. Can't miss your own welcome home party." She blinked, nudging Anubis off her lap so she could take off her seat belt. He was more than happy to oblige and leap out of the car, running in circles. She stretched her legs as she got out, trying to ignore the phantom pain through her abdomen.

She looked up at the house, surprised at how large it looked. Two levels, with an attic that was clearly her brother's bedroom. The home was cradled by forest, and she could tell the yard didn't have a fence. A small, green car sat in the driveway, and she recognized it as the car her father got to keep in the divorce. A petty move considering his knees came up to the steering wheel every time he tried to drive it.

"How long have you guys been living here?" It had a coziness coming from it that she'd learned to associate with her father's homemaking abilities.

"Years. I wanted to move all of us out here but Clarice refused to leave the city. Figured this was a good reboot." She hefted several duffle bags out of the car before heading inside.

She was right about her father's homemaking. The place cradled you like a nest. None of the furniture looked new, but worn in just right. Anubis was so happy to be back he darted around her legs and nearly tripped her. Even the scent of the place was homey. It wasn't like the fresh rain outside, but almost neutral save for the stale scent of being uninhabited for a week. She stood in the living room and just let herself adjust. This was home.

"So, as much as I appreciate ya just standing there, I'd really like you to drop your stuff in your room so we can eat." Solomon flipped her hair over her head before taking one of the bags.

"Wow, you mean after an entire week with us, you're social enough to eat with us too?" She grinned. "You aren't gonna do that thing you did when your girlfriend came over and puke when we're done, are you?" He crinkled his nose at her.

"It was _once_." She smiled. "And anybody who watches you eat would want to puke." Now this was normal. She jogged up the stairs, letting Solomon lead her to the room on the left.

"Well if you ate more than three bites you'd think I was pretty average." She stopped talking once she saw the inside of the room.

Every wall was painted to look like the inside of a tree, with a large nest on the wall around the low platform bed in the corner opposite the window. Across from her bed was a desktop computer on the floor with a seating cushion rather than a desk. Even the set of drawers wasn't much taller than her if she was sitting upright. The only tall structure in the room was a book case, and she could see several comic books lining it.

"You painted my room Sol?" she asked incredulously, moving to touch one of the painted leaves around her window. She knew her brother was talented enough to get into art school, but this was amazing. It almost looked like an extension of the trees outside of it. One of them was so close Solomon could have easily jumped out to it.

"I used it for an art project last year."

"Cool." She grinned. "So what's with the no chairs thing?"

"Dad kinda just figured you'd like the floor more." That was close enough. She flopped on her bed. "You should probably...unpack or something while dad cooks. Anubis has been handing out here since the smell of paint disappeared, so you can kinda roll around and get used to it." She grinned at her brother.

"You gonna go back to your burrow?" Solomon's brow twitched.

"Well not all of us can be as social as wolves and deer," he said defensively. "Besides, I have school work." She shooed him off.

"Just make sure if you let any owls in they don't hoot all night. I'll come get you for dinner." He smiled at her gratefully before slipping out of the room. She listened out as he climbed the stairs to his room before his footsteps became inaudible above her head.

She reluctantly rolled off her bed and sat up, folding the clothing up and putting them in the drawers.

"You're folding your clothes? You feeling alright?" She glanced over her shoulder to see her father peeking his head in the room.

"It's okay if you walk in here. You're not gonna set me off or anything."

"Sorry, old habits die hard I guess." She laughed. "Solomon already back in his burrow?"

"Puberty's hard on boys," she joked. "I'm sure it's just a phase." Her father laughed. "Don't worry, he's doing his best to be a bit more sociable. I know he cares." Her father ruffled her hair, messing up her braid.

"I'm making your favorite for dinner. A lot of it." She grinned.

"Venison?" His face paled. "I'm kidding. It's salmon right?" He relaxed, moving to leave.

"Yeah, make sure you call your brother down. Be careful if he's on the roof though. It's slippery and you know how he spooks easy."

"You're talking about him as if he actually was an owl."

"More or less." She snickered as he left the room.

* * *

She had probably missed her father's cooking more than she could even remember. She barely bothered with her fork. Then again, considering the amount of time she'd gone without food before, it felt more like she was trying to prepare for not eating again. She watched Anubis tear into his own fish whole, occasionally tossing him a bit of skin from her own food during the meal.

"I swear to god watching you eat still scares me," Solomon complained. She swallowed her bite, glaring up at her brother.

"Just try to slow down a bit Alex. I know the whole choking hazard thing is kind of a joke now, but you gotta adjust to a normal eating pattern." She took a breath, focusing on eating in normal bites. "Puberty really is tough on you kids. I thought your grandfather was kidding." She raised her brow. _That was the understatement of the century._

"Is that what you two were talking about?" she asked. He nodded, looking back down at his plate.

"You didn't have any of us around when you started to really change, so you don't exactly realize what's normal and what's not. I am surprised you figured out the running thing though."

"I just didn't want to stand out too much."

"Well, as far as school goes it shouldn't be too hard. You're just like your grandfather." That explained the aging wolf he kept at his side. And how he'd found a wolf cub as a present for his granddaughter. "Actually, that could be a bit of a problem. He's always been a fighter."

"I mean, all I have to do is not punch anyone in the face and not die. That's not so hard." She took a sip of water. That helped her slow down her eating pace. Eat and drink. It almost reminded her of a movie where an alien tried to pilot a human body. She wasn't sure whether that thought was funny or upsetting.

"I guess it's a good thing she has the entire weekend to practice," Solomon muttered underneath his breath. She threw one of her peas at him to shut him up.

"Don't throw food at your brother." She sulked back in her seat, narrowing her eyes when Solomon gave her a haughty look. "And what he means is that it just takes a little practice to be mindful. Knowing you don't die can confuse you a bit. Sometimes it makes you ignore dangerous things."

"I mean, how bad can it be?"

"I watched you cross a street several times without even bothering to look, kid. And I know you knew a car was coming because your hearing is as good as your grandfather's." She blushed. It wasn't that she knew the car was coming so much as it didn't quite register as dangerous. Though, not being able to die probably amplified her bad habit of not looking. "Just be mindful."

"Fine," she sighed.

"And you'll have some time to run around a bit without anybody watching. It'll help you relax a bit before you start school Monday." That soon? Did people even process papers that quickly? Where _had_ her father even gotten those papers?

More questions with answers she probably didn't need. Well, more like she was sick and tired of asking questions. It was getting exhausting.

"Sure."


	3. Chapter 3

The moment her father pulled out the driveway that Sunday, Alex felt so excited it was like she was buzzing. Now she knew why dogs (or wolves) jumped everywhere the moment they heard the jingle of a leash. Anubis nearly tackled her as she changed into her running shorts and tank top. At the last minute she grabbed a neon yellow athletic hoodie. Visibility tended to be an issue even if she was going as fast as most speed limits.

"You ready for a run?" Anubis panted and she jangled her keys as she went down the stairs, careful that he didn't tackle her. Breaking her neck was not how she wanted to spend her last day off.

She did a last check on her sneakers while she locked the door before jumping off the stairs.

"Who's ready for a run?" she asked Anubis, watching his face grow more excited. "We are!" He barked and she straightened up, jogging lightly before setting off into the forest.

She laughed as she felt the rush of air against her skin. It only grew stronger as she pushed herself, trying to go as fast as she could. She was surprised that Anubis was keeping up with her, even overtaking her at this point. The last time they ran was years ago and she was faster than him. She got a bit closer to keeping up, careful not to run into any trees. It was a good thing she'd chosen cleats instead of her regular sneakers. For now, this speed was enough despite the fact that she was still keeping her breath. All she needed for now was the sensation of running. It felt like she was completely in control. Like nothing could touch her. This was even better than competing. In cross country she could sense the finish line and literally feel her adrenaline cut short. This time, it ended when she wanted it to. That was power.

"Anubis!" The wolf was already several lengths ahead of her, and he slowed to a stop panting and wagging his tail. She scratched his neck as a reward before crouching down to look at him. "How about a race?" He licked her cheek, making her laugh and wipe the saliva away. "Okay, I'm testing your nose too. There's a beach nearby, can you smell it?" He lifted his nose, sniffing at the air. "Salt water, fish- focus." It took a moment, but eventually his yellow eyes focused back on her. "Good job. I'll race you to the road right before it." He nodded and she got in a starting position.

"Ready..."

He barked.

"Set..."

She raised her tailbone up and he leaned back, winding like a spring.

"Go!"

She had to ease up to her speed but Anubis sprung forward, already going faster than her. She pushed herself to her top speed, still trailing behind the wolf. Surprisingly, he went even faster still, overtaking her so easily she could tell she'd lose sight of him soon. Even so, she tried to push herself even harder, sprinting rather than running. If she lost to Anubis he'd see it as even more of a reason to willfully disobey, or even outright bully her. It was bad enough she had to deal with his growing attitude problem.

She caught a flash of his fur outside of the tree line and struggled to coast to a stop, opting to simply drop into a roll at the roadside. After pushing herself that hard it was all her legs wanted to do anyway. What happened was more like skidding and falling than a crontrolled stop. Anubis barked, mimicking her and dropping down to roll on his back.

"Good...boy," she said between breaths. She reached her arm over to rub the wolf's belly. She was grateful for her hoodie now that she was cooling off. The sensation of the chilly air over sweating skin slowly grew from relieving to unpleasant, and she subconsciously shuffled into Anubis's side to take advantage of at least a little bit of his warmth. She could almost fall asleep like this.

"Hey! You okay?" She sat up, focusing on a figure down the road. That was probably where it came from.

"Yeah!" She called. She stood up, nudging Anubis out of his half nap. Maybe she'd been lying there longer than she thought.

Reluctantly the wolf rolled over and sat upright. She pat his head gently, freezing as she felt the low rumble of him growling. She looked up, noticing that the closer the stranger got, the more aggressive Anubis's face grew and the louder he growled. This was not like when he met strangers he didn't like. He was the picture of pure agression right now.

"I think you should get back!" The stranger yelled, and she noticed now that they were a teenage boy about her age. Despite that he had one of the most muscular physiques she'd seen in person. Not even the football players from her old school looked like that. That's probably what was setting Anubis off.

"I'm fine!" she called back, holding up one of her arms. "Just don't come closer!" She dug her fingers into Anubis's neck, turning his head so he'd look at her while she shushed him. She waited until he stopped snarling to make eye contact, and he calmed down, whimpering and avoiding her gaze. "Jeez, what's with you?" she whispered.

"Did-did you just calm down a wild wolf?" She jumped as the voice was closer and she turned, surprised to see the boy was literally behind her. She kept her fingers against Anubis's skin as his discomfort increased.

"He's not wild," she said defensively. "Just bad with strangers." She waited for the boy to say something, but instead he just kept staring at her. _Is he that scared?_

It did give her a chance to identify him better. Aside from the muscular physique that was making her vaguely nervous, most of what she could see from her perspective was an expanse of russet skin, muscle, and broad shouders. Anything above that was just a chin. A very high up chin.

"Um, are you okay?" Alex asked. She stood upright, now able to see dazed brown eyes and a short crop of black hair. He was also much taller than she gagued while kneeling down. She reached up her hand to wave it in front of his eyes, glad when he took a step back. "Were you that scared?"

"Uh-no-I just-" She waited patiently for a whole sentence. "I've never really seen somebody keep a wolf as a pet. He's really big." She smiled.

"My grandfather found him as a cub and let me take care of him. I guess at this age he should be a bit larger than most grey wolves." She scratched Anubis's head, watching him preen. "I think you just spooked him earlier." It had to be the most averse reaction she'd ever seen Anubis have to a stranger by far though.

"Sorry about that." She shrugged if off, letting him know it was fine. "I'm Jacob by the way." She smiled brightly.

"Alexander, but everyone calls me Alex." She was used to the confusion of people's faces when she told them her name. She'd think it was weird too if she hadn't grown up with it.

"Your parents named you Alexander?"

"They were really sure I was going to be a boy," she explained. He smiled.

"Guess you really aren't from around here." She shook her head.

"I just moved in with my dad. Apparently he had empty nest syndrome after my brother left for college." It wasn't a lie. Her father was very attatched to his children. It would have been difficult when Solomon left for college.

"Oh, your dad's the guy who offers guide services to hikers." She nodded, feeling a bit of Anubis's fur bristle.

"Yeah. He's a real nature nut." She looked down at the wolf, and he tipped his head back to sniff at the air before butting her thigh with his muzzle. She knew what that meant. "It's gonna rain soon, I should probably get home." Anubis lapped at her fingers and she held back the urge to raise her brow at him. She was the owner so why was he trying to reward her?

"You're gonna walk it?" Honestly, she could find her way home, but that was through miles of forest. It wouldn't be too long of a run, and the density of the forest would help keep her dry at that pace. The problem was, how did she do that with somebody watching her?

"I mean, it's not like I drove out here," she said awkwardly.

"My place is pretty close. I could give you a ride." She was on the fence. On one hand, small town people were pretty friendly. On the other hand, she'd watched enough episodes of Dateline to know this was exactly how people started talking about her in the past tense. _If me coming back to life doesn't scare him to death first._ Better not to chance it.

"I think I'm just gonna walk it. It's not more than five or so miles." She wasn't lying. They'd run in several circles, but they weren't too far from the house."

"Do you want some company? There've been some weird bear sightings so they've been telling people to hike in pairs." Well at least they weren't in an enclosed space.

"Um, sure." She started walking toward her house. "So if I'm letting you know where I live, you think I can get a name?"

"Jacob Black."


End file.
